


Introduction to 21st Century Aromatherapy

by mrs_d



Series: Tumblr Fics [15]
Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Moving In Together
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-14
Updated: 2017-03-14
Packaged: 2018-10-04 16:31:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10283189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrs_d/pseuds/mrs_d
Summary: “What?” Sam asked him. “You jealous?”Steve’s eyebrows shot up. “Of a candle?”





	

**Author's Note:**

> I swear Yankee Candle didn't pay me to write this.

Sam was humming along to his favorite playlist, wrapping his dishes up in newspaper and placing them carefully in a large cardboard box, when Steve walked into the kitchen.

“What’s up?” Sam asked, breaking his tune.  

“Uh,” Steve replied, and Sam looked up. Steve was looking down at the small white box in his hands, his cheeks bright pink. “I found something… personal,” he said.

Sam frowned, trying to think of potentially incriminating items that might have been in the closet that he’d assigned Steve to sort through. “Well, it can’t be as bad as what you found in the bottom drawer of my night stand,” he joked. He extended a hand. “Lemme see.”

Steve coughed and handed it over, then stepped past Sam to get a drink of water from the tap — an excuse to turn his back, Sam thought. He appreciated the gesture towards privacy, but he had to admit that it made him a little apprehensive about opening the box.

Whatever was inside was wrapped in pale blue tissue paper that was vaguely familiar; Sam set the box down on the counter and started digging, careful not to tear it. The memory came back the instant he caught sight of the blue card, his sister’s handwriting. He laughed, all his nerves vanishing at once.

“This is what you got me so worked up about?” he asked, and Steve shrugged. The back of his neck was red, too. Sam rolled his eyes, still laughing, and pulled the card out to re-read it.

_To my dear baby brother,_

_Sammy, I know you said you wanted a boyfriend for Christmas, and I know there’s nothing worse than not being able to find a man when you need one._ _So, I got you this. Whenever you need a man (and not like that, Samuel, get your mind out of the gutter), you can just light this guy up and breathe deep. Enjoy!_

_Merry Christmas, Sam, I love you,  
Sarah_

Sam set the card aside and pulled out the candle he couldn’t believe he’d forgotten. He opened the lid, sniffed, and grinned. Steve was watching him closely, a strange expression twisting his mouth.

“What?” Sam asked him. “You jealous?”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up. “Of a candle?”

“Well, hey, you never know,” Sam laughed. “You are the jealous type, Rogers, don’t deny it.”

“Please.” Steve reached out, and Sam gave him back the candle. Steve sniffed, and that strange expression came back. “It smells... good,” he said.

“And Nat says you’re such a bad liar,” Sam teased, taking the candle and inhaling its aroma again.

“I’m not lying,” Steve protested. “I just... okay, maybe I am a little jealous,” he said finally.

Sam laughed outright, but Steve, his cheeks flaming again, held up a hand.

“Let me finish,” he said. “I’m not jealous of your... involvement with a candle,” he explained, rolling his eyes. “It's more like, I’m jealous because I wish I could smell that good.”

“You and me and every man in existence, I’m sure,” said Sam, thinking of Sarah’s explanation when she gave it to him that Christmas morning five years ago. “It’s the man candle, number one boyfriend substitute. Ask any woman, she’ll tell you.”

“Huh,” said Steve, shaking his head in that adorable way that conveyed just how strange he thought the world was nowadays. “Well, we should burn it sometime,” he added, sounding casual but weirdly cautious.

It was Sam’s turn to be surprised. “Why would I want to do that?” he asked. He set the candle down and hooked his fingers in Steve’s belt loops. “Don’t need a substitute when I’ve got the real deal right here.”

Steve was blushing again. Sam could practically feel the heat radiating off him. He was ducking his head, his lashes fanning out against his cheeks, and that was when Sam put it together; he’d seen that look before. Just last night, in fact.

“You’re not jealous,” he accused, tugging Steve even closer, pressing their bodies together. “You’re hot. The man candle turns you on, doesn’t it?”

Steve was squirming against him now; Sam could feel he was half-hard in his jeans and getting harder with every movement.

“I— it smells good,” Steve said again, more feebly.

Sam stifled another laugh so he could kiss him, soft and deep. Steve brought his hands up, kneading Sam's ass and rocking their hips in a slow, maddening rhythm.

A loud knock on the front door had Sam pulling back a moment later, twisting his head to drag in a much needed breath. He turned just in time to see Natasha come through the door with flattened boxes under her arm.

“No wonder this move is taking so long,” she commented, raising her eyebrow at their closeness and disheveled state.

“Nat,” Steve greeted her, sounding reasonably put together, even as he untangled himself from Sam's grip and adjusted his pants slightly.

“Ooh, a man candle,” she replied, clearly unfazed by what she'd just walked in on. She picked it up, breathed deeply, closing her eyes. “Amazing. Everybody needs a man who smells like this.”

Sam and Steve exchanged a look, neither of them deigning to point out the fact that Nat’s tastes ran pretty exclusively in the direction of women.

“Okay, boys, let's go,” she said after she’d sniffed her fill. “If we're gonna get you moved into the Tower some time this year, we’d better get moving.”

Steve headed back to the spare bedroom with Nat, but before Sam went back to packing up his dishes, he took the candle to his room and tucked it into the box of stuff he’d taken out of the bottom drawer of his night stand.

He had a feeling it was in good company there. 

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by [ the real-life story of The Man Candle.](http://mrsdawnaway.tumblr.com/post/158375198584/lostinhistory-thelefthandedwife)


End file.
